Merlin Episode ?: Lady of Life
by Splash13
Summary: Thought of this story the day the Aussie drought broke. The rains are meant to bring life but then why is it bringing destruction and who is the woman that is bending water to her will to destroy camelot? Can Arthur and Merlin stop her in time?
1. Chapter 1

**Note from the Author: Hey guys, I promised you a story and here it is. It's my first time writing a fanfic so please review, review, review! **

**I won't say be nice, what a silly thing to say? ****Just please make your criticism (if there is any :P) constructive. Thanx. **

**More to follow........**

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Arthur was bored.

He had been couped up for the past week as bucket after bucket of rain fell outside.

Though the rain was boring and depressing it was a pleasant change from the weather Camelot had been experiencing for the past four months.

This summer had been a particularly hot and dry one with multiple heat waves and very little rain.

Due to this Camelot had quickly become a dust bowl, the plant life not used to such conditions.

The earth had begun to crack and all the rivers and creeks in the surrounding country had become tepid and vile due to the heat and lack of flow.

Even so they all had to be diverted to farms so that food could continue being produced.

This had caused the forest to begin to die back and the grass to become become dry and brittle. Yes, Arthur was definitely grateful for the rain.

It would bring life back to Camelot again.

However his gratefulness did not make up in the slightest for his current bored predicament and with that thought in his mind he set out to find Merlin.

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Merlin was glad for the rain, however as he gazed out of the window of Gaius's study at it he noted that it was abysmally ineffective.

The ground had become so parched that the water simply ran straight off.

As he sat staring at the rain watching it drip and run down the window pane, he felt a niggling at his consciousness, a drop of rain running down the windowpane at the back of his mind.

For a minute he considered it to be the dragon, trying to contact him through telepathy and he pushed the feeling away.

He was by no means feeling forgiving towards the dragon, not after the incident regarding the questing beast and his bargain with Nimhue, but the more he pushed the more the stream of consciousness flowed until a full out waterfall of unease appeared in the back of his mind.

It was almost like someone was giving him a warning that they were determined not to have ignored.

Just as Merlin was about to go with the flow (sorry I just couldn't resist a bad pun), Arthur slammed open the door and bustled through, removing and shaking out his sodden cloak as he went.

"Morning Merlin, good to see you're up before 9am on your own for once, how often would that happen, once in a decade?"

"Well if that's the case sire shouldn't you treasure the occasion and give me the morning off?" Marlin said trying to buy space form Arthur so that he could try to trace the feeling of unease.

"No Merlin, I think it's about time we did some sparring. We wouldn't want you getting bored now would we?

"But sire, it's raining"

As if on cue the rain suddenly stopped and a ray of sunlight began to creep out from behind the clouds.

Merlin groaned.

"There's your answer then, come on." Arthur said as he headed towards the door with Merlin grumbling good naturedly behind him.


	2. Chapter 2: It is coming

**Hey guys sorry it took a while for me to post this. Thanks to _Cloepatra's Snake_ for your review, my first review ever! ****By the way I was hoping to post a new fic up soon called 'When Nightmares Come Alive" it's a bit cliche but hopefully interesting enough. **

**Thanx soo much well, here it is the next installment. It's short one this one. Hope u like it. **

**PS: I don't own Merlin so don't sue me BBC or n e other big scary corporations! :P. N e way, on with the story......**

It was a long walk to the town square. Most of the roads were flooded over (I know that's physically impossible Camelot is on a hill but for the sake of artistic licence bear with me), so they had to take the long way around; past the fruit stalls, down a deserted back alley and along a high and very sturdy looking white stone wall.

Just as Merlin passed the wall a surge of magical energy and unease spread through him, it was the same feeling as he experienced in Gaius's chambers but stronger and more urgent and this time he cold have sworn that a voice was starting to accompany the unease.

Sure enough the voice grew louder and began whispering his other name in a bubbly yet enchanting voice.

He stopped to listen pressing his ear to the wall from which the noise had now begun to issue.

"Emrys" It whispered. "The surge is coming. Clear the way, it is coming it is coming it is coming it is coming. He was broken out of revere by Arthur's voice issue right beside him and his hand slapping the stone in front of Merlin's face to get his attention.

"Come on Merlin at this rate by the time we get to the square the rain will have started again."

Reluctantly Merlin pulled himself away from the wall but as he went to take a step the piece of stone that Arthur had hit began to split with a loud cracking sound and water began leaking out, then suddenly the whole wall was giving way sending a torrent of water straight at Arthur.

Merlin didn't think, he just reacted, months of saving Arthur's life had sped up his reflexes and his eyes flashed gold slowing the entire scene down whilst he leapt through the air launching himself at Arthur.

As he was turning in the air Merlin came face to face with the oncoming stream of water and to his shock he could see in the very centre of the stream a woman. She had long, wavy almost white blonde hair and blazing turquoise eyes that seemed to hold anger, grief, determination and joy in them all at once.

She was stagely fascinating ye scary at the same time.

But he didn't get to study her further because all too soon Merlin was hitting the hard flagstones in an undignified heap with Arthur underneath him.

He lay there on his back watching, ot of the corner of his eye, as the surge of water made its way through the square and down through the castle gates throwing stall after stall out of the way as it went and leaving the streets behind it clean and mud free.

Unfortunately a man, one of the vendors was in the way of the current.

Merlin moved to warn him to get out of the way when the water swirled and twisted away from him. Merlin gazed in shock as the water turned and twisted avoiding people as it passed through the castle gates.

It was at that moment that Merlin was suddenly reminded of who he was sitting on when an angry voice issued from beneath him.

"Merlin, get off me!" a very annoyed Prince Arthur ordered.

Needless to say Merlin stood up rather quickly. "Oh sorry" Merlin replied, helping Arthur to his feet.

Arthur surveyed the damage. Pieces of stalls and stands were thrown all over the courtyard, spoilt produce was strewn across the flagstones and soaking wet merchants and peasants were picking through the debris trying to salvage any of the merchandise that they could.

"Looks like we won't be sparring today" Merlin said with a little too much glee in his voice for Arthur's liking.

"Don't feel too disappointed Merlin," he offered in reply, "you're going to help clean this up" he smiled with satisfaction as Merlin's face fell slightly, "but first I must inform my father of this.


	3. Chapter 3: Nerina

Hey guys, sorry this took so long to update. Had the bane of all writers' existences, the dreaded writers' block (the fact that I had 3 history essays due did not help either :P). Thanx soo much MagicByMerlin for helping me get over it, and thank you all for your reviews.

Note: Sorry about the grammar in this chapter, it's abit dodgy. If you see anything amis please let me know. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

By the way all thoughts and telepathic communication is in italics.

Thanx and as always, enjoy!

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Merlin stood in the great hall listening, with his hands behind his back, as Arthur concluded his damage report.

"You did not notice that the wall was damaged before its collapse?" Uther questioned.

"If there was I did not notice any, there was simply no warning." Arthur replied.

At this comment Merlin's mind immediately jumped to the uneasy feeling he had felt before the wall collapsed. He was sure it was a message. Someone had been trying to warn him, but who?

However his internal musings were interrupted when Uther asked his last and possibly damming question:

"Did you see anything unusual at the scene?"

Merlin held his breath.

Had Arthus noticed anything?

However he was relieved when Arthur, being his usual unobservant self replied.

"No my lord, nothing."

Merlin smile internally. Only Arthur could not notice a magic water woman that was trying to kill him.

"_He has got to be the most unobservant person that I have ever met__."_ Merlin though to himself.

"_I agree__."_ a feminine voice whispered in the back of his mind.

It was all Merlin could do not to let out a very unmanly shriek.

At this the voice laughed a gentle bubbly laugh.

Regaining his composure Merlin asked hesitantly _"Who are you?"_

The gentle tinkling laugh subsided and Merlin silently mourned its loss, there was something about that laugh that made him feel warm and light.

"_My name is Nerina__," _

The name stirred something in Merlin's memory; where had he heard that name before?

"_but that is not important right now, __I have come to give you another warning, and seeing as you didn't heed my last one very well I though amore direct form of action was needed."_

At this Merlin's heart fell. Why couldn't beautiful women talk to him for a good reason? Wait, what had he just thought? He hadn't meant to think that, it had just slipped out and anyway he hadn't even met her yet, how was he to know.

Nerina laughed her silvery laugh again saying cheekily

"_Your mind certainly runs away with you doesn't it Emrys?"_

Damn, he'd forgotten she could hear his thoughts. Trying and failing badly at hiding his embarrassment he tried to change the subject;

"_So you had a warning for me?__"_

Abruptly the giggling stopped and Nerina's voice became serious. _"It's going to happen again", _she said.

"_What! There's going to be another dam collapse?" _Merlin replied, alarmed.

"_Yes and more than one other."_

Merlin felt his blood run cold.

"_What do you mean?__"_

"_Are there not three reserv__oirs in the grounds of Camelot? Someone has been badly hurt and she will use all the chances she can to heal that hurt."_

At that moment those vividly emotive turquoise eyes flashed into his mind, accompanied by a feeling of pain, grief, and strangely, love that was so great it was all that Merlin could do not to double over. However as quickly as it came, it passed.

"_That was merely a sample of her pain"_ Nerina whispered.

"_And who is she, why is she in so much pain? Did Uther kill her child?__"_ Merlin asked thinking back to the Lady Helen incident as he liked to call it when he became Arthur's manservant.

"_You could say that, yes,"_Nerina replied_, "and as for your other question; you actually know her very well."_

He was started out of his telepathic conversation by Arthur's annoyed voice. "Come on Merlin, there will be plenty of time for day dreaming later, we have a job to do."

"What, where are we going?"

"To check the other larger reservoirs for damage just as father said. Geez Merlin, don't you ever listen?"

"Not to you anyway." Merlin replied absentmindedly as had digested this new information.

Suddenly Nerina spoke in an urgent tone in his mind yet again, _"Emrys. You must keep Arthur and any others away from the second reservoir. I could not bear it if anyone were hurt."_

"I will, you have my word" Merlin replied.

With that Nerina receded from his mind leaving him feeling strangely empty and alone.

Arthur's now even more annoyed voice sounded from the door. Well, come on Merlin I would like to have reservoir two checked before lunchtime." And with that he marched out the door leaving a dumbfounded Merlin behind him.

"_Great! Why does he always go just where he is in the most danger," _Merlin though to himself as he ran to catch up to Arthur, "_and he calls me the idiot."_


End file.
